February 1, 2017

House Projects: To Finish the Front

Thank you so much for all the compliments on the new front gable ends on our house. Trying to finish at least the exterior of our house was at the top of this year's homestead goals, with finishing the front this winter. To do that, there is only one more set of windows to be replaced.


I'm not even sure what to call this room anymore. The real estate ad called it the third bedroom, although the realtor also called it "the sun room." Here's an inside look at those windows before we moved in.

All it needs is a shade tree outside these windows

It's a long narrow 9' 3.5" by 19' 11" room with three walls of windows. Initially I thought it would be perfect for my weaving studio, although it proved to be a pretty tight fit for my large Glimakra loom, all of my yarns, fibers, and books, spinning wheels, with no room for my sewing machine. You can see more photos of the room before we moved in here (and photos of my original studio set-up here). When Dan started working on our master suite we had to clear out our second bedroom so this room became a storage room. Now it serves as my office as well as for storage.

The plan is to replace those old windows with one new energy efficient one. As with all the other windows we've replaced the sizes are different, so we'll have to do some tearing out and rebuilding to accommodate the new. The big question is whether or not there is structural damage hiding beneath the siding and framing. When we replaced the windows on the back wall of this room (a side project in order to install our large rain catchment tank), Dan discovered a rotted rim joist and rotted ceiling girders. Quite a bit of repair had to be done. No telling what it will be like when those front windows are removed.

Continued here.

25 comments:

KathyB. said...

It's a lovely room even as is, I can only imagine how much better it will be when you're finished. I am especially interested because we just made a workshop to accommodate my small looms. Can't wait to see this finished !

Dawn said...

What a lovely light sunlit room, I am sure you will find the perfect use for it, I hope there is no major problems uncovered.

Leigh said...

Not sure when we'll get to finishing the inside! Besides being narrow, it's poorly insulated. All those windows have window weights which means open, uninsulated spaces behind the trims. But it warms up beautifully in winter when the sun is shining.

Leigh said...

Me too!

Ed said...

I've heard a lot of the older houses in the south were insulated poorly or not at all. Up here, it is rare to find anything without any insulation though I have found plenty of old bat insulation that is falling apart. If I ever live my dream and build a house from the ground up, I'm only going to spray foam it with that expanding rigid stuff.

Renee Nefe said...

Husband's latest project has been coming up with plans to finish our basement. He seems to have completed the plans and is now nagging me to "clean up" my stuff there so he can get started. While his plans are lovely, we don't have any need for the rooms he wants to put in down there. I told him that I would rather have my kitchen and master bath redone. and our backyard landscaping is in need of repair also (the sand under the brick patio is washing away). sigh! I've got two shows to costume first.

Nancy In Boise said...

Great space! I have seen some people use those for a dining room in the summer, and a extra room in the winter. Great light! Nancy

DFW said...

No matter what you might find when you start tearing the old windows out, I think is is a lovely room. Too bad it didn't work out for your studio.

Michelle said...

My aunt did that and her massive, gorgeous two story home burnt to the ground before the fire department could even get there. She was in a suburban area. That stuff is crazy flammable.

Leigh said...

Wow, Michelle, I didn't know that. It's become a very popular way to insulate homes. I do know that the stuff will deteriorate over time, so Ed, I was going to suggest that you do some research on its life expectancy as an insulator.

Leigh said...

Renee, sounds like you have to figure out how to redirect his enthusiasm, LOL.

Leigh said...

We've thought about making it a sitting room, or at least that front half since the other half of the room is my office. It still might have potential as a crafting room. It will probably be awhile before we get to the inside though, so I have plenty of time to think about it!

Leigh said...

I agree. It's almost porch-like, except they put HVAC ductwork and vents in it. It's not well insulated, however, and is very cold in winter and hot in summer. I'm hoping we can remedy that with a better window and good insulation.

Sandy Livesay said...

Leigh,

It is a gorgeous room. I'm sure you and Dan will figure out how you'll use this room. With all the windows, I would put my small greenhouse inside there to start my seeds :-)

Y'all do nice work, always impressed with your projects.

Cozy Thyme Cottage said...

Now when do you find the time to weave on your loom with all you do!! Nancy

Leigh said...

Actually, Sandy, what we're wanting to do is add a greenhouse right along side this room. We'd take out the middle window in that wall and put in a door. We'd use all the windows we've removed for the greenhouse, which itself would help insulate the rest of the house plus receive heat from the rest of the house. A door out the back would make it easy to get to the garden. It's still in the discussion stage though. :)

Leigh said...

Well, I don't, LOL. Right now my look is knocked down for storage. I'm hoping maybe once I don't have painting and those kinds of projects to do that then I'll have time for weaving. :)

Donna OShaughnessy said...

it is always a risk to start digging in on any older home. We once tore apart the kitchen on our old farm to find only newspaper (whole sheets!) used to insulate the walls. No wonder that room was so cold in the winter. We did have fun reading the news from 1919 though.

Leigh said...

Ha! We found the same thing in our kitchen! 1920s built home with 1920s newspapers. That must have been one of the "clever" ideas of those days. LOL

Sue in MA said...

I've found with my Glimakra that having lots of space front and back to be the most necessary, with limited space to the left and more on the right to be helpful. I always thought the orientation you chose should have been turned 90 degrees! LOL I hope you can return to weaving once all your other projects are finished, either in this room or another spot. You have a lot to offer the weaving community.

Goatldi said...

First question is fiber driven where it all now? What a shame that didn't work out. I would have done the same. It could have been a porch area at one time who knows? Agree with Donna never know what your are going to find in old houses. I may have mentioned before in our last home we found the gable to what used to be the original garage in the attic who knew?

Leigh said...

Thanks Sue! Actually, I never thought of turning the loom, I think because I wanted a nice view of the weaving from the living room. You're right that it would fit better the other way and that would give the necessary room in front and back. (Actually, I've thought I ought to build a special room with a sunken pit like an auto mechanic has. Then I could sit in the pit to do the tie-ups comfortably!

Leigh said...

My loom was taken apart and is currently in that front bedroom we replaced the window in. My yarns and fibers are in boxes in both that room and also the "sun" room. Right now my former studio is divided in half, with book shelves making a temporary wall to define my office.

Another potential problem is that we've been discussing building a greenhouse right off of this room, built parallel to it. The middle window in that wall would become a door to the greenhouse, which would create a need for traffic flow in the middle of the room.

That front bedroom is larger and roomy. Even though we replaced one large window with a smaller one, there is still a large window for light on the side. It's all still in the "trying to figure out" stage though, and at least a year down the road to implement.

jeaniebabb said...

It might be better as 'HIS' craft space

Leigh said...

Ha! Could be. :) Although he has a nice little studio and study right off the bedroom.